The reunion chapter! In Germany with a German family. For you that means quite a few German phrases, but I feel like most, if not all, is fairly easy to figure, especially based on context clues. However all of them will be located at the bottom of the page, just like always. Read and Review!

~nibblesfan


Katja and the man stared at each other, both seemingly stunned. They obviously knew each other; they had known each other's names. "Katja?" the man repeated, taking a step towards them. Erik took a step forward as well in case he needed to protect Katja for any reason. "Katja? Heissen Sie Katja? Sind Sie meine Schwester?"

She nodded as tears began to slide down her cheeks. "Ja Fredrick."

The man suddenly ran to her, picked her up, and swung her around in a circle before hugging her tightly. The two immediately started talking in German much too fast for Erik to keep up with let alone attempt to translate. Both were crying and embracing each other over and over again. Finally, Katja whispered something to him before walking up to Erik and lowering his hood, revealing his masked face. "Fredrick, this is Erik," she said to the other man. "He's the man that saved my life. Erik, this is my brother Fredrick."

"Thank you for returning my sister to me." The man spoke French with a slightly heavier accent than Katja. She must have told him that Erik didn't speak German. "There are no words that can express my gratitude. You can't possibly imagine how much we've searched for her."

"Wo ist Vati?" Katja asked her brother.

"Im Café," he replied. "Komm mit mir." He put his arm around Katja and started to lead her inside. When he realized that Erik was still standing in the street, he motioned for the Phantom to follow. "Sie auch! My family will want to meet my sister's rescuer." Erik hesitated, but Katja extended her hand to him with pleading eyes, so he slowly followed them inside, through the empty café to a staircase in the back that most likely led up to the family's residence. "Vater!" Fredrick shouted. "Komm hier! Schnell!"

"Was jezt?" another male voice yelled back.

"Schnell!"

There was a heavy sigh before the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. It was a seemingly cranky, middle aged man with blonde hair starting to grey at the temples. "Fredrick, Ich…" His voice trailed off when he saw Katja. He stood there for a few moments, completely slack-jawed, before running down and stopping just before Katja. The man reached up, as if to touch her cheek, but changed his mind and dropped his hand. He just didn't seem to know what to do.

"Hallo Vati," Katja said softly.

The sound of her voice sparked something in him. He hugged his daughter tightly and broke down. "Meine Tochter," he murmured, cupping his daughter's cheek. "Mein kleines Mädchen."

Katja clung to her father, both of them crying, as she whispered "I'm so sorry," over and over again in German. She looked like a small child in her father's embrace, not the twenty year old woman she really was.

"Dieter?" a woman's voice called out. A copper haired woman and a little girl, maybe ten years old, appeared at the top of the staircase. While Katja's father and brother clearly looked just like her, this woman and child didn't. They must be Katja's stepmother and stepsister. "Was geht hier ab?" Her hands flew to her mouth when she saw the group at the bottom of the stairs. "Katja?"

Erik hung back in the shadows, feeling awkwardly out of place. The entire family was crying and hugging Katja. While he didn't understand most of what was being said, Erik didn't believe that Katja had told her family what had happened to her yet. But from what it looked like, her fears of rejection were completely unwarranted. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Erik knew it was horrible and selfish, but he had almost hoped they would have. Because if they had, he could have taken her back to France and kept her all to himself.

She untangled herself from her family and made her way over to where Erik was hiding. Katja pulled him into view. "Wer ist das?" her father demanded.

"This is Erik," Katja explained in French. Her family seemed surprised by the sudden switch in language, but the Phantom appreciated being able to understand at last. "He saved my life. He rescued me in Paris."

"Paris?!" her brother repeated in shock. "Warum waren Sie dort?"

"It was the gypsies. They kidnapped me. Vati you were right!" She pressed her face against her father's chest. "I'm so, so sorry! I should have listened to you! I snuck out to see the fair. They found me in the woods and took me to their camp," Katja sobbed. When she was able to compose herself, she continued with, "I was their prisoner until Erik rescued me. He saved me and nursed me back to health, and now he's brought me back home!"

"You saved my daughter and brought her safely back to me," her father said, grabbing Erik's hand and shaking it repeatedly. "However can I ever repay you?"

"I just want to make sure she's safe," Erik replied. "The gypsies were far from kind to her and I want to make sure she's not in any danger here. I'm sure you understand."

"Thank you for your concern but she's in safe hands now."

Erik felt a surge of protectiveness towards Katja. He wasn't about to just walk away. Besides, he had promised her that he would stay for a while. "Monsieur, I mean you no disrespect but your daughter has been through a lot of pain and suffering. I need to know for myself that no one will hurt her here."

"If you are implying that I would ever hurt my daughter…" Katja's father started coldly but his daughter leaped to Erik's defense.

"Vati, one of the gypsies followed us in Paris. He attacked me Vati! Erik saved me from him too! He has a reason to be concerned. All he wants is to make sure I'm okay."

Her father pulled Erik aside, away from the rest of the family. "You have feelings for my daughter, no?"

"I feel responsible for her well-being," Erik replied vaguely. He didn't feel there was a need for Katja's father to know the true extent of his feelings for her, especially since he wasn't going to stay permanently. The German man nodded as though he could read the Phantom's mind, but said nothing more on the subject.

"Where are you staying?" Katja's stepmother asked when they returned to the family.

"I was going to find somewhere after I accompanied Katja home."

"No," her father said. "You will stay here."

Erik was shocked. He did not expect these strangers to open their home to him. If anything, he was used to being ordered out because of the mask. "Monsieur, I…"

"Dieter," he said. "None of this 'Monsieur' nonsense. This is my wife Brigitte."

"Very well Dieter. But I do not wish to impose."

"You saved my daughter. You will call me Dieter and you will stay here. It is the least we can do to repay you." Erik looked to Katja, but she just gave him a watery smile and shrugged.


German Translations

Heissen Sie Katja? Sind Sie meine Schwester?- Is your name Katja? Are you my sister?

Wo ist Vati?- Where is Papa?

Im Café. Komm mit mir- In the café. Come with me.

Sie auch!- You also!

Vater! Komm hier! Schnell!- Father! Come here! Quickly!

Was jezt?- What now?

Meine Tochter. Mein kleines Mädchen- My daughter. My little girl.

Was geht hier ab?- What's going on here?

Wer ist das?- Who is this?

Warum waren Sie dort?- Why were you there?